My Penn State Experience Rachel Guarriello 1 Presentation

My Penn State Experience Rachel Guarriello 1

Presentation overview: � Penn � The State University Schreyer’s Honors College � Getting � My involved with research at Penn State work with Dr. Liu’s group � About me 2

About Penn State: � There about 45, 000 students at Penn State University Park ◦ About 39, 000 Undergraduates, and about 6, 000 Graduate/ Med/ Law students � 1 out of every 127 people in the U. S. is a Penn State graduate � There are over 800 Student clubs and organizations at Main Campus 3

About Penn State: � THON is one of the largest events on Campus. ◦ It’s a 48 -hour dance marathon that benefits Pediatric Cancer research ◦ It is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world � Popular sports on campus include football, basketball, baseball, and many more. Thon 2011 4

Schreyer’s Honors College �I am a member of the Schreyer’s Honors College at Penn State ◦ There are many benefits to being a part of the Honors College such as special housing, scheduling, classes, events, and scholarships � Only 300 students are admitted to Schreyer’s each year through a special application process. �A 3. 4 out of 4. 0 GPA is required each semester to remain in the Honors College � Schreyer’s provided me with a research travel grant to come here. 5

Getting involved in research: �I applied for a research position through the WISER (Women in Science and Engineering Research) program at Penn State � WISER is run by the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium, a small division of NASA � Dr. Liu chose to accept me and another freshman, Christina to join his research group. 6

My research with Dr. Liu’s group: � Christina and I have been working with Maddie to prepare for a Fe. Zr project. � We will be testing the hardness of various alloys to create a hardness profile based on precipitation and age-hardening. � In preparation, Christina, Maddie and I have completed XRD (X-ray diffraction) training and worked on grinding, polishing, and various aspects of optical microscopy as well as researching the various aspects of Fe. Zr alloys. 7

About me: �I am an Undergraduate Student studying Materials Science and Engineering �I am entering my Sophomore (2 nd) year at Penn State �I am planning on graduating with a Bachelors degree in Materials Science and a Minor in Energy Engineering ◦ The Energy Engineering minor focuses on alternative energy sources such as bio-fuels and renewable energy sources 8

About me: � In addition to my Studies, I am a member of many organizations on campus: ◦ Class Representative for Materials Advantage ◦ Member of the College of Earth and Minerals Sciences Student Council ◦ Member of Professional Organizations such as Association for Women in Science, Nittany Chemical Society, and Women in Science and Engineering ◦ Also a member of the Penn State Thespians, a performing arts group on campus �I have also played the piano for 15 years 9

About me: �I currently live in Bethlehem PA, a small city to the east of Penn State ‣ I have 2 younger siblings, my sister Marissa and my brother David, and 2 dogs named Cooper and Bailey. My siblings and me on the Penn State Lion with our dogs 10